


The Hardest Part of Breaking Up

by puffnstuff08



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Gen, Humor, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14933876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puffnstuff08/pseuds/puffnstuff08
Summary: Nick Carter's son Neilson experiences his first real case of heartbreak when his girlfriend abruptly breaks up with him. Bradley J. tries to get his best friend through this difficult time but a chance encounter might end up hurting Neilson even more.





	1. Chapter 1

Bradley's eyes shifted towards the kitchen door as he heard Neilson on the phone, he turned the TV volume up, as the TV got louder Neilson's voice did too before he finally hung up. 

"Can you get that thing any louder?" Neilson asked angrily. 

"What?" Bradley asked him as he turned the TV's volume to normal level. 

"Very funny" Neilson said to him. 

"Damn dude, calm down" Bradley said as Neilson plopped down next to him "Trouble in paradise?" Bradley asked, Neilson threw his head back and groaned in aggravation "Guess that answers my question" Bradley said. 

"It's been like this for a while now, I don't even know what I'm doing wrong, every little thing I do anymore sets her off" Neilson said to him. 

"Women" Bradley said. 

"Really" Neilson said standing up and putting his jacket on "I'm out, I gotta go" he said. 

"Where you going?" Bradley asked him. 

"I just need to take a drive, clear my head" Neilson said picking up his keys.

"Where you planning on driving to?" Bradley asked. 

Neilson sarcastically laughed "You're so funny!" he said as his face fell serious. 

"Want me to go with you?" Bradley asked. 

"No, thanks, I just want to be alone for a while" Neilson said to him. 

"Don't do anything stupid!" Bradley said as the door closed.

~*~

Neilson stood against the railing of Natalie's front porch, the door opened and she appeared in the doorway.

"Hey" he said to her. 

"Hey" she said quietly "I'm not really in the mood to argue with you" she said to him. 

"Great, I don't want to fight with you either" he said "Look Nat, I uh...I'm sorry" he said "Whatever it is I did or said, it obviously hurt you and I'm sorry" he said "I'm sorry about earlier, I'm sorry we've been fighting a lot lately, I know it's mostly my fault, point is I'm just really sorry about everything" he said. 

"Thanks" she said nodding "I'm sorry too" she said. 

"Thanks" he said "Well uh...I guess I'll take off..." he said when she grabbed his hand.

She pulled him close and they kissed "Want to come in?" she asked. 

"Your mom home?" he asked looking inside. 

"My mom is away visiting my brother at UCLA" she said smiling. 

"Then yeah I'll come in" he said she pulled him into her house and shut the door behind her.

~*~

Bradley's bedside clock read one am, a noise outside his window disturbed him from his slumber. He quickly slipped out of bed, peeking over the mattress from the floor and he grabbed the closest object, ready to defend himself when he saw Neilson. They both screamed in terror.

"What are you doing?!" Bradley asked as Neilson crawled through his window. 

"What are _you_ doing?!" Neilson asked. 

"Why are you climbing through my window?" Bradley asked. 

"And have my dad nail me for missing curfew? Yeah great idea" Neilson said to him "What are you doing with that?" he asked "You really think you're going to scare someone off with a lightsaber?" he asked. 

"I can if I use the force" Bradley said pushing a button making it glow. "So, how'd it go with Nat?" Bradley asked. 

"What makes you think I was with Nat?" Neilson asked taking his jacket off.

"Because you smell like sweat and anger and shame" Bradley said to him "so, you kiss and make up?" he asked.

"Yeah you can say that" Neilson said smiling. 

"So you're okay now?" Bradley asked. 

"Oh yeah" Neilson said as they sat on Bradley's bed "And to make up for all the fighting, I'm taking her out tomorrow night for the most amazing date she's ever had" Neilson said smiling. 

"Very nice" Bradley said. 

"What's going on in here?" Harry asked coming in wearing a long night gown type shirt and a sleeping cap on his head. They looked at him confusedly. 

"What are you wearing?" Neilson asked. 

"It's a nightshirt" Harry said to them. 

"Yeah? You borrow it from your grandma?" Bradley asked him. 

"Guys" Kyle groaned coming into the room, his comforter wrapped around him "What are you doing?" he asked groggily, he looked over at Harry, they looked at each other up and down. 

"What's with this?" Harry asked, Kyle looked at them nervously. 

"I don't sleep in pajamas" he said reluctantly. 

"Oh eww are you naked?" Bradley asked him. 

"At least I didn't borrow my grandma's nightgown!" Kyle said about Harry. 

"It's a night _shirt_!" Harry said to him. 

"I don't care, I'm going back to bed" Kyle said gathering his covers around him. 

"Yeah, naked" Neilson said. 

"It feels good okay?!" Kyle said "Just keep it down would you?" he asked shuffling out the door. 

"I'm going back to bed too, night" Harry said. 

"Night grandpa" Bradley said, he turned back to glare at them. 

"I better get some sleep too, I'm exhausted" Neilson said stretching his arms.

"Yeah you made your point, go to bed" Bradley said to him.

~*~

The next night, Natalie and Neilson approached the front porch as they returned from their date.

"Such a great night huh?" Neilson asked, his arm wrapped around Natalie's shoulders. 

"Yeah it was fun" she said smiling, her smile faded as she turned away from him. 

"You uh...you had a good time right?" he asked. 

"Oh mmhmm" she said nodding. 

"I couldn't really tell, you were awfully quiet the whole time" he said to her. 

"What? No, no it was fun" she said. 

He rolled his eyes "Alright...what'd I do now?" he asked. 

"What? Nothing" she said. 

"So then what's wrong?" he asked. 

"What are you talking about? I'm fine" she said irritated. 

He sighed in irritation "No you're not, now can you please just tell me what's wrong?" he asked. 

She sighed "You're right, I'm not fine" she said "I haven't been fine for a while now" she said. 

"Oh god..." Neilson said nervously "Are you..." he said darting his eyes around. N

"No I am not pregnant" Natalie said to him. 

"Shh!" he said to her, looking around cautiously. 

"Sorry, but no that's not it...Neilson..." Natalie said "we need to talk" she said. 

"Oh, okay, let's go inside..." he said opening the front door.

"No, we should do it here" she said.

"Okay" he said shutting the door, they sat on the porch on a small bench. 

"I don't know if you've noticed but there's a pattern emerging here, last year at this time we were having problems just like this, remember?" she asked. 

"Oh yeah now I remember isn't that when you decided to make out with my best friend?" he asked irritated. 

"Oh my god, I cannot believe you are actually throwing that in my face!" she said angrily. 

"Well hey maybe you shouldn't have made out with Bradley then, just saying" Neilson said. 

"You know I was hoping we could have a real mature conversation but if you just want to act like a jackass be my guest" she said before turning to walk away. 

"Wait" Neilson said "I'm sorry okay, finish what you were going to say" he said. 

"Look after everything that has happened last year, the shooting, the kidnapping, the explosion, I thought we would be okay, because it seemed to put everything into perspective" she said. 

"Okay and?" Neilson asked confused.

"We're right back where we started , Neilson you can't deny that we have been fighting a lot lately" she said.

"I know, but I thought we talked all that out?" he asked "I thought everything was okay now?" he asked. 

"Neilson everything just doesn't go away just because we have sex, that doesn't make everything better" she said. 

"Oh my god" he groaned in aggravation. 

"See? You can't even listen to me anymore!" she said irritated "I want us to talk about things" she said. 

"We did! Remember? Last night? I came over to your house, I apologized, I thought it was over" he said to her. "What do you want Nat? what do you want me to do?" he asked. 

"If we go on like this we're just going to end up hating each other and I can't let that happen" she said sadly. 

"What are you talking about? that won't happen" he said. 

"Neilson I love you, I love you so much" she said holding his hands "But the thought of us hating each other...I can't think about it, I don't want to think about it" she said sadly. 

"Well, okay, don't...what are you trying to say?" he asked. 

"I'm saying...I think we need a break" she said. 

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Not officially, I just...I think we need some time apart, some time to ourselves...I'm sorry, I have to go" she said leaving. 

"Natalie...Nat!" he said in disbelief as she ran away.


	2. Chapter 2

The door to Bradley's room opened, he winced as the hallway lights hit his tired eyes, he could hear the faint sound of sobbing coming from down the hall, he followed the sound coming to a stop just outside of Neilson's room. The moon shone through Neilson's bedroom window as he sat on the floor, just staring ahead of him, tears welled up in his eyes, they started to drip down his chin. 

"Neilson?" Bradley asked. 

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Neilson asked hastily wiping his tears away trying to conceal them. 

"You okay?" Bradley asked. 

"Yeah I'm fine" he said managing a tearful smile and looking up at him. 

"No you're not" Bradley said to him "I take it things didn't go so good with Nat tonight huh?" he asked sitting down next to him. 

Neilson smiled sadly and turned to him "She uh...she broke up with me" he said trying to hold back his tears.

Bradley looked at him shocked "What? What are you talking about? What do you mean she broke up with you?" he asked. 

"She said we've been fighting a lot lately and that it's just going to get worst and we'll probably end up hating each other and that she cares too much about me to let that happen" he said as his face scrunched up. "It's over...the girl I've loved since I was twelve is gone" he said as he began to sob. 

Bradley looked at him sadly "Come on" he said grabbing the back of Neilson's neck and wrapping his arms around him "It's okay" he said softly as Neilson lied his head on Bradley's shoulder. Bradley held him tightly as he began to weep openly "It's okay" Bradley said softly trying to comfort him. 

Orange mist began to ascend into the sky, rising over the horizon, the wee hours of the morning began to creep in on them. They both still sat parked on the floor leaning up against Neilson's bed. 

"I just don't get it" Neilson said "I went to her house, I apologized...she made it seem like everything was okay, she told me everything was fine and then she just...drops this bomb on me like last night never happened" he said in confusion. "I just don't get where any of this came from" Neilson said. "And I really wish I could stop crying about it like a little bitch" he said smiling as he wiped more tears away. "

"Hey, come on, you just had your heart broken, you're allowed to be hurt and upset" Bradley said to him. 

"You didn't have to sit here with me all night you know, you can go back to bed if you want" Neilson said to him. 

"No, it's cool, I can sleep anytime" Bradley said shrugging , Neilson lied his head on Bradley's shoulder, Bradley rested his cheek against Neilson's head.

Bradley could feel his every fiber being filled with rage, all the pain and all the misery Neilson was feeling and all because of one person, Natalie, his blood began to boil at the thought of her.

The day went on, Bradley finally emerged from his room in the late afternoon, bounding down the kitchen stairs. 

"Morning" Bradley said coming down to the kitchen later that day. 

"It's one in the afternoon" Brian said. 

"Oh...fine, whatever" Bradley said pouring himself a cup of coffee. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Brian asked. 

"Having some coffee with my old man" Bradley said to him. 

"A. Don't call me old man, B. You're seventeen, you're too young to be drinking coffee" Brian said "What's wrong didn't you sleep last night?" he asked.

"Nah, I was up all night with Neilson" Bradley said. 

"Why?" Brian asked. 

"Nat broke up with him" Bradley grumbled. 

"What? Why?" Brian asked. 

"I don't know something about how they've been fighting a lot lately and if they kept fighting they would end up hating each other...I don't know something stupid like that" Bradley said. 

"How's he doing?" Brian asked. 

"About as well as can be expected" Bradley said to him.

"Poor kid" he said sadly.

"I'm going to get dressed I told Neilson I'd get us something to eat" Bradley said going back upstairs. 

Nick came into the kitchen "What's with him?" he asked. 

"Well I guess you're going to hear about it anyways so I might as well tell you" Brian said. "Nat broke up with Neilson last night" he said.

"You're kidding" Nick said. 

"Unfortunately I am not, Bradley said he was up with him all night" Brian said.

Nick sighed deeply "What happened?" he asked. 

"Bradley said Nat told Neilson they had been fighting a lot and she said if they stayed together they would end up hating each other, supposedly she wanted to protect him from that, I don't know" Brian said.

"This really sucks" Nick said. 

"Imagine how Neilson feels" Brian said. 

"I do know how Neilson feels" Nick said "She was his first love, he probably feels like his world is falling apart". "I guess it's time for a little father-son chat" he said. 

"Yeah I'm sure he'd appreciate it" Brian said. 

Neilson lied in his bed, his face red and blotchy from hours of crying, he sniffled, listening to Steven Tyler croon on his stereo as he listened to Aerosmith.

__

_"Girl, before I met you I was F.I.N.E. Fine_  
but your love made me a prisoner, yeah my heart's been doing time  
You spent me up like money, then you hung me out to dry  
It was easy to keep all your lies in disguise  
'Cause you had me in deep with the devil in your eyes" 

"Neilson?" Nick asked opening the door, Neilson hastily wiped his tears away.

"Hey" he said sitting up "What's up?" he asked. 

"I heard what happened" Nick said sitting on his bed next to him. 

"Yeah...well...what's done is done, you probably think I'm a complete bitch for crying like this" he said. 

"I think you're a kid who just got his heart broken by his first serious girlfriend" Nick said "And I think you're allowed to grieve...so, want to tell me what happened?" he asked. 

Neilson sat up "She said that we were fighting a lot and if we stayed together it would get worst and we would end up hating each other" he said "She said she cared too much about me to let that happen" he said sadly. 

"I'm sorry, I know how much it hurts" Nick said, Neilson nodded sadly as more tears began to fill his eyes, Nick pulled him close and held him, letting him fall apart in his arms. "I know you don't think so now but everything's going to be okay" he said rubbing his back as he sobbed.

"I just wish it didn't hurt this bad" Neilson sobbed. 

"I know, I know" Nick said soothingly. 

"But you know what? The pain does go away".


	3. Chapter 3

Natalie walked into the diner and up to the counter. 

"Hey Nat, ooh, you're not looking so good, bad day?" Bill, the owner, asked upon seeing her face. 

"You can't even imagine" she said sadly. 

"Sorry to hear it, what can I get you?" he asked. 

"Whatever chocolate you have on the premises I'll take it and lots of it" she said. 

"How's the uh chocolate molten lava sundae sound?" he asked. 

"Hive me three" she said. 

He chuckled "I'll see what I can do" he said. 

"Thanks" she said hopping up on to a stool. She set her phone on the counter she went through the pictures on her phone, looking at them sadly. She pressed on Neilson's name in her contact list, her finger hovered over the call button when she finally pressed the home button. 

"Hey Bill can I get..." Bradley said when she turned around to face him. 

"Hey" she said to him, he glared at her in response. 

"Hey Bradley J. , order's almost ready kid" Bill said sliding Natalie a sundae glass of chocolate ice cream covered in chocolate syrup, hunks of chocolate resting on top. 

"Okay" he said as he moved over to the jukebox. 

Natalie stood up from her seat and walked over to him "Hey" she said. 

"Hello" he responded coldly. 

"Getting food for Neilson?" she asked. 

"What's it to you?" he asked. 

"How is he?" she asked sadly. 

"You really want to know?" he asked "He spent half the night literally crying on my shoulder, but what do you care?" Bradley said to her. 

"Can you please not be this way?" she asked "I could use aa friend right now" she said. 

"Oh I'm sorry, you break my best friend's heart and you expect me to be not only okay with it but also expect sympathy?" he asked. 

"Bradley..." she said. 

"No, don't okay, I don't want to hear your lame excuses for putting Neilson through emotional hell, he's devastated and I can't stand watching him be in that much pain because of you." 

"Bradley, order up" Bill said setting a paper bag and two styrofoam cups on the counter. 

"I got to go" he said going up to the counter and grabbing his order. 

"Bradley..." she said as he walked out the door and left.

~*~

Kyle came down the kitchen steps looking behind him in confusion "What is going on up there?" he asked Adam thrusting his thumb backwards.

"I don't know, but Neilson's really hitting his limit on sappy break up music" Adam said irritated. 

"Break up music...wait, did he and Nat break up?" Kyle asked. 

"Turn it down!" Harry bellowed up the stairs as he came down into the kitchen. "Man, what is with him?" he asked "I can't get any work in my lab done because of sobfest 2010 up there" Harry said. 

"Sobbing? Neilson is crying?" Kyle asked. 

"That's what it sounded like, I mean I couldn't really tell over the music but I guess that's what it was" Harry said to him. 

The backdoor opened and Bradley came inside, balancing the two cups and the food bag in his hand. 

"Maybe we'll finally get some answers" Kyle said "Hey, what's going on with Neilson?" he asked Bradley. 

"You guys didn't hear?" Bradley asked. 

"Hear what?" Harry asked "All I hear is late 80's hair metal ballads" he said.

"Nat broke up with Neilson last night" Bradley said sadly. 

"What?" Adam asked. 

"I was afraid of that" Kyle said. 

"She say why?" Harry asked. 

"She basically gave him the old _'it's not you it's me'_ routine" Bradley said. 

"Oh what the hell" Adam said angrily. 

"Man poor Neilson" Kyle said "He must be crushed" he said in a sympathetic tone.

"Worst than that, I was up with him all last night" Bradley said. 

"Yeah I bet you were Bradley" Adam said smirking. 

He and Kyle looked at him irritated "I got to get this food to Neilson, Kyle? You mind?" Bradley asked going towards the stairs. 

"Yeah sure" Kyle said punching Adam hard in the arm "Damn it Bradley!" he said irritated, rubbing the spot on his arm where Kyle punched him. 

"Hey" Bradley said going into Neilson's room, he lied back on his bed, the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head. 

"Hey" Neilson said pulling it off. 

"Got you cookies and cream milkshake" Bradley said handing him a styrofoam cup, he smiled a bit and took it. 

"Thanks" he said. 

Bradley unpacked the food from the bag "I uh...I saw Nat" Bradley said reluctantly, Neilson looked at him. 

"How is she?" he asked unwrapping a burger. 

"Alright I guess" Bradley said to him "She asked about you" he said. 

"Huh" Neilson said "What'd you tell her?" he asked. 

"I told her the truth" Bradley said shrugging. 

Neilson nodded "What'd she say?" he asked. 

"She said she was sorry" Bradley said taking a bite from his burger.

"You yell at her?" he asked smirking.

"Course I did" Bradley said as they smiled at each other. 

"Thanks" Neilson said to him, they bumped their fists together and went on eating.

~*~

"Hey, I came as fast as I could, what's going on with Neilson?" Sasha asked coming into the house.

"Nat broke up with him" Nick said to her. 

She gasped "No" she said "What?" she asked. 

"Yeah" Nick said. 

"No" she said sadly "Why?" she asked. 

"Well they were fighting a lot..." Nick said to her. 

"Couples fight, that's nothing new" Sasha said. 

"She told him that if they stayed together and kept fighting they would just end up hating each other and she didn't want that to happen to them" Nick said. 

"Oh please, that is such a cop out" she said angrily "My poor baby, is he okay?" she asked. 

"Course not" Nick said. 

"How bad is it?" she asked. 

"He's completely wrecked, Nat was his first real girlfriend, his first love, he's heartbroken" Nick said. 

She sighed deeply "I knew this would happen one day, I just...how do we get him through this?" she asked. 

"I think we just need to give him space, he'll be alright" he said.

"How do you know so much about this?" she asked surprised. 

"Because I've been through it...A LOT" he said "and yeah some aren't that bad but some are soul crushing, sometimes you don't think you can go on" he said to her. 

"I know" she said "Our poor little boy" she said. "I'm going to go talk to him" she said going towards the stairs. 

"I think he just wants some space right now, Bradley's up there with him, he's got it covered". 

"Well thank god for Bradley, he's such a good friend, I'm sure he'll be able to help Neilson more than we can" she said. 

"So...how do you feel now?" Bradley asked as he and Neilson sat on the floor against his bed. 

"I'm numb" he said "I guess I just wish I understood more" he said. 

"Women" Bradley said. 

"Tell me about it" Neilson said. 

"Hey" Bradley said nodding to him.

"What?" Neilson asked. 

"Want to go get wasted?" Bradley asked him. 

Neilson turned towards him "Yes, thank you, let's do that!" Neilson said.

~*~

Night fell, Bradley's headlights shone in the dark as he parked his car ontop of a hillside overlooking the entire town. He and Neilson got out and went to the trunk, the trunk opened and a cooler sat inside, Bradley pulled the lid open and handed Neilson and bottle before taking one himself.

"Wow, how'd you know about this place?" Bradley asked as they sat on the hood of his car. 

"Nat and I used to come up here sometimes" Neilson said. 

"This is awesome" Bradley said sliding on to the hood next to him, Neilson pried the cap off the bottle. 

"Cheers" Neilson said as he and Bradley clinked the bottles together, they both took a drink.


	4. Chapter 4

"So..so wait, tell me what she said again" Bradley said as Neilson took a swig from his bottle, they sat on the hood of Bradley's car on the hilltop, city lights glistened in the distance. 

"Mm..she said we've been fighting a lot and that if we stayed together and we kept fighting we would end up hating each other and she didn't want that to happen to us" Neilson said. 

"Oh right right...that's really stupid" Bradley said as they began to laugh. 

"You know she could do a hell of a lot worst than you" Bradley said "Hell I'd date you" he said. 

"Dude she used to get so mad at me for the stupidest stuff" Neilson said. "She always said she was 'second' in my life" Neilson said using his fingers for air quotes. 

"Second to who?" Bradley asked. 

"You" Neilson said. 

Bradley turned to look at him and cracked up laughing "Me? She's jealous of me?" he asked as they laughed. 

"Well in a way she was right, I always thought Nat was the one person I couldn't live without right? But you know she's gone now and you're here and I'm okay" Neilson said. 

"I'll never break your heart Neilson" Bradley said laughing. 

"Oh come on!" Neilson said as he started to laugh again "I'm trying to be serious here!" he said "You got to go and quote Backstreet" he said as Bradley continued laughing. "But seriously, you are the one keeping me here, so thank you" Neilson said. 

"Hey, you'd do the same thing for me" Bradley said to him. 

"Hell yeah I would" Neilson said "No really, I love you dude" Neilson said. 

"No, I know, I love you too" Bradley said. 

"Come here" Neilson said grabbing him and hugging him. 

They heard the faint sound of a piano coming from inside the car "Oh man" Bradley said getting up and leaning into the window, he turned the volume up. 

__

_"Sister Christian_  
Oh, the time has come  
And you know that you're the only one  
To say, okay  
Where you going  
What you looking for  
You know those boys  
Don't want to play no more with you  
It's true" 

"Here it comes" Bradley said sliding himself back on the roof of the car.

"You ready?" Neilson asked. 

"YOU'RE MOTORING...WHAT'S YOUR PRICE FOR FLIGHT?!" they sang before laughing.

~*~

The next afternoon Nick came down to the kitchen.

"How is he today?" Brian asked. 

"First few days are the hardest, Bradley's been a huge help" Nick said.

"He took him out last night and got him drunk" Brian said to him. 

"Yeah, how come you never do that for me?" Nick asked him. 

"Hey" Bradley said coming in with yet another take out bag. 

"Bradley you really think stuffing Neilson's face with food is going to make him feel better?" Brian asked. 

"It's comfort food...I'm trying to comfort him" Bradley said.

"Wait" Nick said putting his hand in the air. 

"What?" Brian asked him. 

"Shh...you hear that?" he asked as they all became silent and began to listen intently. 

"Oh my god" Bradley said horrified. 

"That's Back To Your Heart" Brian said. 

"He's listening to us" Nick said astonished. 

"Oh god this is bad" Bradley said running hurriedly up the stairs. "No no no no no" Bradley kept saying as he burst into Neilson's room and turned the music off "Okay that's it, we got to get you out of here" he said leaning over Neilson, meeting his face. "When you start listening to the old men, things are bad" Bradley said.

"Look no offense or anything I just feel like being alone for a while" Neilson said to him. 

"But I brought you Taco Bell" Bradley said. 

"I'm not hungry" Neilson said. 

"What happened here? Last night you were fine and now you're back to...mopy" Bradley said. 

"Bradley would you just go?" Neilson said irritated. 

"Alright" Bradley sighed "Obviously you're in a mood...I'll come back later" he said setting the bag down on a desk and started towards the door. 

"You know this all your fault!" Neilson said angrily. 

Bradley stopped in his tracks and turned around "Excuse me?" he asked "What is my fault?" he asked "I know you're not talking about this whole break up thing" Bradley said.

"Yeah I am" Neilson said to him. 

Bradley scoffed "I'm sorry...when did I become Natalie?" he asked. 

"Maybe Nat was right, I could never put her first, maybe if I did she would still be here but I didn't and for what? For you, you always had to tag along with us everywhere! maybe if you just stayed out of the way half the time, we would still be together!" Neilson said to him. Bradley sighed deeply "It's not fair that my girlfriend dumped me because you can't find your of your own" Neilson said to him. 

They stood there in silence "Wow" Bradley finally said Bradley said "Yeah you're right, I don't have a girlfriend at the moment...I don't have much of a best friend either" he said sadly "Enjoy your food...oh and your space" he said. 

"No I didn't mean that" Neilson said. 

"Yeah you did" Bradley said leaving. 

"Bradley! Come on!" Neilson called after him as he left the room.

~*~

The bells above the door jingled as Bradley came into the bar "Hey Charlie" he said to the guy behind the counter.

"Well Bradley J., what's up kid?" Charlie asked. 

"Nothing" Bradley said sighing leaning against the bar. 

"You alone? Where's Neilson?" Charlie asked. 

"Well he said he wanted space so I'm giving it to him" Bradley said. 

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good" Charlie said popping the top off of a bottle. 

"No...he's having a bad week that's all and he decided lashing out at me was the best medicine" he said "Thanks" Bradley said as Charlie slid the bottle over to him, he took his jacket off and hopping up into a stool. 

 

Neilson lied on his bed, looking up at the cieling, he took out his phone, tapping on Bradley's name and typing out a message _"dude, I'm sorry, call me"_ he wrote. 

"Neilson" Nick said knocking on the door. 

"Come in" Neilson groaned. 

"Hey, how you doing?" he asked sitting next to his head at the foot of the bed. 

"Oh great, I'm pissing off everyone this week" Neilson said sitting up. 

"What do you mean?" Nick asked laughing. 

"I said some...pretty awful things to Bradley" Neilson said. 

"How awful?" Nick asked curiously. 

Neilson sighed "I...basically...blamed him...for Nat breaking up with me" he said. 

"Okay yeah that's pretty awful" Nick said agreeing with him. 

"Yeah, I know, thanks" Neilson said. 

"Come on, he knows you didn't mean it" he said "He knows you're in a bad place right now, don't worry everything will be fine" Nick said. 

"You think?" Neilson asked hopefully. 

"I think I know you both pretty well, you can't stay mad at each other for long" Nick said. 

"True...well he's not answering any of my texts and he's not picking up when I call...maybe I should go find him" Neilson said. 

"If you think that's what you should do then you should do it...I don't know how you're going to find him though, he could be anywhere" Nick said. 

"Not necessarily" Neilson said leaving the room.


	5. Chapter 5

"So what's got Neilson jumping down your throat?" Charlie asked Bradley.

"Nat broke up with him" Bradley said to him. 

"Ah man" Charlie said "That's too bad" he said sadly. 

"Yeah well..." Bradley said. 

"First heartbreak is always the toughest" Charlie said stacking glass mugs on the shelf behind him.

"Fortunately I wouldn't know...as Neilson kindly pointed out" Bradley said bitterly taking a swig from another bottle Charlie passed him. 

"Course it explains a lot" Charlie said drying out a mug. 

"What do you mean?" Bradley asked, Charlie nodded towards a table where Natalie sat talking to another guy.

~*~

"Hey" Neilson said coming down the kitchen stairs.

"Hey" Kyle said turning around as he sat with Adam and Harry in the kitchen. 

"You okay?" Harry asked. 

"I've been better" Neilson said "Hey do you guys know where Bradley went?" he asked.

"I think he went over to Charlie's" Harry said to him.

"Oh, okay, thanks" Neilson said.

"Sure you want to go over there? He's pretty pissed at you" Adam said. 

"Yeah I know but he's not picking up his phone so face to face is the only way to do this, mind if I borrow your jeep?" Neilson asked Kyle. 

"Yeah as long as you bring it back in one piece" he said. 

"I'll try" Neilson said as Kyle handed him the keys "I'll see you guys later" he said leaving the house.

~*~

Bradley looked at Charlie irritated, shaking his head in disgust, he stood up from the bar and approached the table. He loudly cleared his throat getting Natalie and the guy's attention.

"Bradley..." she said in surprise. 

"Hey Nat" he said smiling at her "Mind if I join you?" he asked sitting at the table. 

"What...what are you doing here?" she asked nervously. 

"Do you know this guy?" the guy asked her. 

"Uh yeah...we're...friends" she said nervously. 

"Yeah we go to school together" Bradley said sitting at the table " **HIGH** school" he said. 

"High school" the guy said, Bradley nodded. 

"Oh wow...uh...this was a mistake...I should go" the guy said getting up quickly and leaving the table. 

"No wait..." she scoffed "I cannot believe you just did that!" she said angrily, she got up and went to the bar. 

"Yeah well I can't believe you broke up with my best friend just so you can hit on random bar guys" he said standing up and facing her. "How old was that guy anyways? Like forty? Nice to see this break up isn't as hard on you as it is on Neilson" Bradley said taking a drink from his bottle.

"How is Neilson?" she asked sadly. 

"Not any better since the last time you asked" he said taking another drink. 

"Then why are you here? Why aren't you with him?" she asked. 

"Well he decided that one way to deal with this break up was take out his anger on me so...I'm giving him space like he so nicely asked me to" he said. 

"What happened?" she asked sighing. 

Bradley chuckled "He blames me" he said to her. 

"What?" she asked confused. 

"Yeah he blames me for you breaking up with him apparently my inability to get a girlfriend of my own lead to you dumping him or something, I don't know" he said. 

"He's just lashing out I'm sure he didn't mean it" Natalie said. 

"Thanks to you" Bradley said. 

"Yeah thanks to me" Natalie said irritated "You know what's interesting? You're so quick to point out my part in all of this how do you think he feels about all the awful stuff you do to him?" she asked sitting back down at the table. 

He looked at her confused "What?" he asked "What the hell does that even mean?" he asked. 

"Oh please Bradley, just admit it, Neilson isn't your best friend he's your lackey" Natalie said to him.   
"Your little lap dog that does whatever you say when you say it, you know I don't even know how he can even call you a best friend when you are so far from it" she said. "Well congratulations because now that we're broken up he can be your errand boy full-time" Natalie said taking a drink. 

Bradley scoffed in disbelief "Wow...is that like today's theme or something? _'when in doubt, blame Bradley'_?" he said in annoyance. 

"You know it's true" Natalie said. 

"Yeah fine, I can be a bastard sometimes, Neilson knows that" Bradley said to her. "Want to know what I think? I think you were going through a rough patch in your relationship and instead of sticking around and working through it you got scared and ran away" he said to her. 

He approached the bar, she stood up from the table and made her way towards him "Not that it's any of your business but I broke up with him because I knew that if we kept fighting the way we were, we were going to end up hating each other, and I didn't want that to happen". 

"Okay, sure, whatever you need to tell yourself" he said pulling money from his pocket and throwing it on the bar, he pulled his jacket on and made his way towards the door. 

"Don't you walk away from me!" she said, he groaned and rolled his eyes as she followed him. she grabbed her coat, threw money on the bar and followed him outside "Now who's running away?" she asked. 

"Uh yeah" he said putting the key into the car door "Because see, unlike you, I have a good reason to" he said. 

"So you can dish it out but you can't take it" she yelled at him as he stood by his car. 

"No actually, the only thing I can't take is seeing my best friend devastated "wallowing in grief and self pity because the girl he once considered the love of his life practically tore his heart out and destroyed him" he said angrily. 

"If that's what you have to do so you don't have to face the fact that you're nothing but a selfish, inconsiderate, arrogant, conceited son of a bitch and the worst excuse for a best friend that anyone could ever have!" she yelled at him.

They stood there in silence, seething with anger, the tension in the air thick. Bradley put his hand on Natalie's hip pulling her into him, they looked at each other lustfully, their mouths fusing into a passionate, hot kiss. Once they parted, they looked at each other, gasping for air. 

Natalie walked over to the passenger side of Bradley's car "You coming?" she asked as she climbed in. Bradley opened the driver side door and got in, starting the car, the tires squealing as he left the lot. 

A few minutes later, Neilson walked into the bar "Hey Charlie" he said. 

"Oh hey there he is, I was wondering when you were going to show up" Charlie said to him. 

"Is Bradley here? I said some pretty messed up stuff to him earlier, he's not picking up his phone and I really need to apologize" Neilson said. 

"Yeah he was here...so was Nat" Charlie said. 

"Nat was here?" he asked. 

"Yeah, look Bradley told me what happened with you two, I'm really sorry kid" Charlie said to him.

"Thanks" Neilson said nodding. 

"Just remember, broken hearts, they do heal, eventually" Charlie said. 

"Yeah I know...how bad was it?" Neilson asked. 

"Pretty ugly, they both tore out of here, I saw her get into his car maybe he took her home" Charlie said to him. 

"Alright thanks" Neilson said to him.

"Yep" Charlie said as Neilson left the bar.


	6. Chapter 6

The front door to Natalie's house opened, Bradley grinding his body against hers as he had her pushed up against the door locked in a deep kiss.

"Mm" he moaned "We can't..." he said as Natalie continued kissing him "We can't do this" Bradley said breathlessly. 

"Mm don't think about it okay" she said pulling him back into another passionate kiss she shook her jacket off and pulled at his coat, he let it fall from him and land haphazardly on the floor, she could feel him grinding his hips into hers, feeling his growing bulge through his jeans  
.   
Natalie threw the door shut, it bounced back against the door frame leaving it slightly ajar. Suddenly he hoisted her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her up the stairs. Neilson drove alone in the night, he reached for the radio dial, turning the music up. Natalie's bedroom door opened, she pulled Bradley inside and threw it shut, it stopped midway and remained opened. 

Natalie gasped, losing her breath as Bradley kissed and sucked on her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair "Bradley" she moaned "God don't stop" she said as he ran his hands down her arms, pulling her bra straps off her shoulders. She reached down grabbing at the hem of his shirt, she pulled it over his head, separating them for a minute before he put his lips back on hers and they began to kiss deeply once more. 

They disconnected briefly and she pulled at his white tank top and yanked it off him quickly, she looked down at his chiseled physique, ogling his toned abs and his strong arms. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off her. They looked at each other, their breath became heavier, their eyes boring into each other. A mixture of anger and lust, they began to kiss deeply once again his hands pressing into her lower back, pulling her body closer to his. 

Her head bounced off of her mattress as she lied down on her bed, Bradley crawled over her, she pulled him down on top of her as they regained their sensual make out session, he squeezed her hip gently, wrapping her leg around his waist. She then flipped them over, lying him on his back and straddling his waist. She looked down at him, leaning over him to softly kiss his neck trailing them down to his chest and his stomach, she pulled at his belt buckle and opened it. He sat up, locking their mouths together once again and lied Natalie on her back, her head hitting the pillows. 

She reached up and undid his jeans before he kicked them off himself. He sat up and pulled her jeans from her, she looked up at him seductively, pulling him back down on top of her. still locked in heated kisses they managed to slip under her bed covers. Holding a condom in his hand, Bradley brought up to his mouth, using his teeth to tear it open. The wrapper then fell to the floor joining the heap of clothes that lie there. 

She pulled him back down towards him, taking him into another deep kiss, he then thrusted his hips forward, entering her. "Keep going, don't stop" Natalie said trembling, pulling him into another deep kiss, their lips intertwining, she entangled her fingers in his hair as he sucked on her neck, his teeth nipping her skin softly. 

She wrapped her legs around his waist, Bradley's thrusts becoming harder and quicker. She arched her back giving him more access, letting him go deeper. She let out a small whimper, gasping for air a mixture of both relief and satisfaction, the pleasure was too intense to take.

 

Neilson pulled into Natalie's driveway and got out of Kyle's jeep, pressing the lock button on the key ring. The headlights flashed as he made his way to the front porch he saw Bradley's car parked in front of him and bounded up the steps. 

He rang the doorbell and stood there for a few seconds "Hello!" he yelled, reaching his fist out to knock on the door when it creaked open. He cautiously made his way inside, looking around behind him. "Hello?!" he asked again "Anyone here?" he asked, he stepped further into the foyer, he looked down to see Natalie's jacket discarded on the floor. He picked up the other jacket and fished into the pocket finding Bradley's phone, missed call notifications lingering on the screen. 

His stomach dropped when he heard a noise from upstairs and started towards the staircase, he could see the dim light spilling out into the hallway. The staircase seemed to get longer as Neilson ascended, he spotted Natalie's bedroom door partially open. 

 

_****_ ****

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._ **


End file.
